Insight Simplified

After hammering out a draft agreement in Minsk this week, the EEU is expected to sign a finalized Customs Code at its December 2016 Supreme Council meetings. Made up of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and the Russian Federation, the EEU will be creating a comprehensive, codified international treaty governing customs regulations in a unified manner across the region.

The new Code represents a significant step in facilitating the automated processing of trade data. The EEU says it will be “fully based on electronic document circulation in customs matters: electronic declaration, automated registration of a customs declaration, automatic release of goods, and application of an one-stop shop principle.”

This cooperative step in customs modernization has wide-ranging benefits. Advancements in automation and harmonized procedures across an economic region are vital to competing with economic or customs “blocks” like the European Union, North America, and East Asia in the globalized 21st century economy. Simplifications for the trade industry and reduced filing of separate documents means more efficient trade and ultimately greater economic stimulus.